Loving Pursuit Page 4

  “I can cover the store for the rest of the day,” Andrea said dismissively. She moved behind Marie and literally pushed her toward me. “Go with the nice man and have a little fun.”

  She pumped her eyebrows twice, and I liked what she was suggesting.

  “I can’t do that,” Marie protested, but Andrea was shaking her head before the words were even out of her friend’s mouth.

  “Don’t be silly. You can owe me one.”

  Andrea’s tone was no-nonsense, and I could see the moment that Marie decided to give in. She nibbled her lip, but her shoulders relaxed as she met my eyes.

  “Okay, I guess I can show you around for an afternoon.”

  Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I didn’t detect that she was truly unwilling to spend time with me. The chemistry between the two of us seemed to crackle in the air, an almost physical presence that couldn’t be ignored. I refused to believe that this was one-sided. So, why was she resisting spending time with me?

  I’d have time to try to find out.

  “So, you own that place?” I asked, as we left the boutique ten minutes later.

  “Yeah, Andrea and I are business partners. We’ve been friends forever and both went to the state college together. I started out studying graphic design, but I just wasn’t passionate about it. Andrea was a fashion major, and, at her encouragement, I took a few classes while I was trying to figure out my next step. Everything just clicked. I loved it. So, we decided to open our own shop after graduating. We design our own clothes and jewelry.”

  “Sounds like you enjoy it.”

  “I love it.” Her smile was wide. “How many people can say that?”

  Jealousy wormed its way into my heart. I had a good life, I knew that. But did I love being an executive?

  Not really.

  “Well, you’re the expert here,” I said. We’d paused on the sidewalk in front of her shop, talking. “Tell me all of Bayville’s best kept secrets.”

  “Secrets?” Her blue eyes were brighter in the sunlight as she looked up at me. “You don’t have much experience with a small town, do you?”

  “Got me there,” I admitted.

  “Then, let me clue you in. There are no secrets in a place like this.”

  “And that doesn’t bother you?”

  “Not usually,” she said, breaking eye contact.

  “But sometimes?”

  “Sure. Sometimes it does.”

  I got the feeling that she didn’t want to talk about it further, so I did the smart thing and dropped it. If I kept this up, she’d probably turn right around and go back to work.

  “I’m parked down the street,” I pointed. “Where should we go?”

  “That depends. Do you like wine?”

  “I’ll be honest, I’m pretty much exclusively a beer drinker.”

  “Then, you’ll get educated,” she said, taking my hand.

  Marie led me to her car. It was a bright yellow VW convertible. As she started the car, the radio blared. She flinched, lowering the volume.

  “Sorry about that. I’m not used to having people in my car often and when it’s just me, I like to blare it.”

  She lowered the top and put on a pair of sunglasses. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was a California girl.

  “Is that Africa by Toto?” I asked, clearly knowing the answer as my ears were still ringing from the blaring chorus.

  “Oh, man,” she groaned, “you have great taste in music, too?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Only for my resolve.”

  As she put the car in gear and pulled out onto the street, I chose not to comment on that. Instead, I reached over and turned the music up again, to a reasonable level. We both sang along as the wind whipped through our hair.

  6

  A Good Man

  Marie

  I took Lewis to the winery. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but I always enjoyed going to sample the different kinds of wine they had, usually leaving with a bottle or two. When I thought about interesting things to do in Bayville, the Terre Villa Winery was one of the first things that came to mind.

  I wasn’t sure if he’d like it, but I decided that we should do what I wanted today, since he’d been so insistent that I show him around. Besides, I knew the guy that ran the wine tasting room. We’d gone to high school together and his family had run the winery going back four generations.

  “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get me drunk,” he said, as we were leaving the winery together.

  I had held back on the drinking a little, consuming about half of what he had in the tasting room, since I knew that I had to drive. I also helped myself to plenty of the snacks that were available. Lewis was leaning against my side as we walked across the gravel parking lot, and I suspected that he was acting a little tipsier than he really was as an excuse to keep physical contact with me.

  I didn’t mind.

  “I’m pretty sure that getting you drunk isn’t necessary,” I said, quirking an eyebrow.

  He chuckled. “Are you saying I should try playing hard to get?”

  “You don’t seem like the type to play games like that.”

  We got into my car. I placed the two bottles of rhubarb wine Lewis had bought for us in the small backseat.

  “Where are we going now?” he asked, looking around at the lush greenery surrounding us. The winery was beautiful this time of year.

  I glanced at the clock on my car radio. It was early afternoon. I would normally be at work for another couple of hours, so I figured that I would spend that time with Lewis before returning home to Grandma.

  “There’s a covered bridge I want to show you,” I said.

  “A covered bridge?” he sounded confused.

  I grinned broadly. “If you really might buy the bed and breakfast, you need to know about covered bridges.”

  I turned off the main road and onto a narrow dirt road that wound through the woods.

  “Why would I need to know about bridges?”

  “Because Bayville is a part of the covered bridge festival.” As I spoke, I pulled into a parking space beside a creek. Up ahead, I could see the covered bridge. “There are about ten of these covered bridges in Parke county, so we have a county-wide covered bridge festival every year.”

  “And that’s popular?” he asked, looking skeptical. I opened my door to step out of the car, and he followed suit.

  “Very. It lasts two whole weeks and draws about two million people.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. I know it seems impossible that so many people would come to this area, but it’s a big attraction.”

  We started to walk side-by-side toward the bridge. The wooden structure was painted red on the outside with a dark roof overhead. It was old, as they all were in the county, and a row of concrete pillars stood at each entrance to the bridge to prevent cars from driving over. A concrete bridge had been built half a mile down the creek for modern-day vehicles.

  “How old is this?” Lewis asked as we walked inside.

  “Almost a hundred years,” I replied. “The covered bridges last longer than open wooden bridges.”

  “Wow.”

  We stopped halfway along the bridge, where there were square cut-outs in the side, similar to windows. We stood together, looking out of one and the water of the creek running over large rocks.

  “The festival is at the end of this month,” I told him. “I’d be shocked if there’s a single hotel room available in the whole county for that two-week period. Six towns in the county participate and it’s a huge deal. A lot of people sell antiques. You can find some cool stuff. There’s tons of food, of course. Last year, there was a man that carved animal sculptures out of a log with a chainsaw, and they were actually really great. Look around next time you drive through town, you’ll see them in people’s front yards.”

  “Are you trying to convince me to buy the bed and breakfast?
”

  Was I? It would mean that he’d have a reason to come around here often, so that was a big plus. It would take away any reason not to be with him.

  “I’m telling you what to expect from the community if you do,” I answered, not wanting to commit to more than that just yet.

  “Why does the festival have such a big turnout?”

  I shrugged. “I guess it’s because people want to see the historic covered bridges. They come from miles around.”

  “So, it’s good business for the area?”

  “It’s the highlight of the year for many of the business owners around here. I’m looking forward to it myself. We’re expecting the boutique to be very busy.”

  Lewis took the time to look around the inside of the bridge, and the wooden frame. The bridge was narrow, and I knew that at the time it was built, cars were small and simple. In this rural area, people were farmers that were more likely to use horse-drawn carriages anyway.

  “I can see why this is such a draw,” Lewis said after a moment. “There’s so much history here.”

  We turned back to each other at the same time, and desire pooled in my belly. All I could think about was closing the distance between us again, pressing my lips to his own. He seemed to be of the same mind as he reached out, taking my hand.

  He used his other hand to cup my cheek, running the pad of his thumb over my cheekbone. I tilted my head and parted my lips as his head descended toward mine.

  Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids as my mouth molded to his. I had tried to convince myself that my memory was exaggerating how skilled this man was at kissing, but now I knew better. I gripped his shoulders, my blood heating when I felt his thick muscles.

  Lewis licked his way into my mouth, and I parted for him with a moan. He tasted like the sweet wine he’d drank at the winery, and I felt intoxicated by him. I lost track of time as nothing else seemed to matter other than the feeling of his big hands trailing down my back, gripping my hips, and pulling me into him until we were flush against each other.

  It was the sound of bird squawking nearby as it flew from a tree branch that broke the spell. We pulled apart and I liked that his lips were red and slightly swollen. Mine were surely the same.

  “I’ve been thinking about doing that again for weeks,” he said. His grey eyes looked darker than usual.

  “Really?” We were still pressed together, and I ran my hands over his shoulders and down his chest, resting my palms flat on his pectorals. “Did it live up to the hype?”

  He chuckled and pecked the tip of my nose before releasing me and stepping back. I didn’t like the distance between us, but this couldn’t go further until we were alone. The bridge might look deserted, but it was still a public place, and someone could come along at any time.

  My phone rang in my purse that moment, so I dug around in the bag until I found it, answering without taking the time to check the caller ID for fear of missing the call altogether.

  “Hello?”

  “Marie, it’s Sheila.”

  My neighbor. She’d barely spoken, and I could already hear that she was upset or worried.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, turning away from Lewis’s questioning gaze.

  “I came over to your house because the front door was open, and I was concerned, knowing that you’d still be at work at this time of day. I knocked and called out to your grandmother, and, when she didn’t answer, I went inside. She’s not here.”

  My blood seemed to turn to ice in my veins. “What do you mean she’s not there?”

  I didn’t know why I was asking her to clarify, other than the small hope that she was somehow recklessly wrong.

  “I checked every room. She’s not there. I’m standing outside now, but I don’t see her on the street anywhere either.

  As she spoke, I started to walk back to my car, my pace just short of running. I sensed rather than heard Lewis following me closely.

  “Shit,” I mumbled.

  Guilt was already flooding me, combining with the panic to make my chest feel tight. I knew that she was having more frequent confusion episodes, but I convinced myself that she’d be fine home alone during the day. It was the house she’d lived in for the past forty years, so I thought that she’d be okay there. Why would she leave on her own in the middle of the day? Where could she have gone? She didn’t drive, or even own a car these days, so she must be on foot.

  “I called you first, but do you want me to give Tony a call?”

  Tony Kenwood was Sheila’s nephew. He was a member of the Bayville police department.

  “Sure,” I said, not wanting to waste any time. “Have him meet me at the house in ten minutes.

  I hung up the phone as I got into my car and looked over to see that Lewis was already sitting in the passenger seat.

  “What has happened?” he asked. He looked concerned, but also…solid. Ready to step up if I needed him. Who knew that a guy like this even existed?

  “My grandmother. She’s missing.”

  “Missing?”

  I nodded as I started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.

  “We live together and she’s not at home.”

  “Is there a reason that it is particularly alarming?”

  “She has trouble remembering,” I said, feeling even guiltier about not being there for her. “Not all the time, it comes and goes. But if she left the house, with the front door wide open and no transportation…”

  My mind conjured up every bad scenario I could think of. How could I have failed this woman that took such good care of me?

  “Sorry to cut things short,” I said, meaning it. The day had been idyllic until I got that phone call. “I don’t want to lose any time that should be spent searching for her, so I’m going to go straight home. I’ll see if Sheila can give you a ride to your car.”

  “Of course.”

  I was right. He was solid.

  I reached the house in exactly ten minutes and found that Tony was already there. His cruiser was parked in front of my house and he was standing on the sidewalk talking to Sheila. I parked behind him and got out of the car while Lewis did the same.

  “Hi, Marie,” Tony greeted, giving me a small, sympathetic smile. I hadn’t given much thought to whether or not Sheila calling Tony was a good idea, jumping on the opportunity to get a cop to my house quickly, but as I walked up to him, I felt an uncomfortable tension.

  Tony and I had dated once, years ago. I hadn’t felt a spark and ended things after just a couple of weeks. I didn’t even consider him to be an ex. We hadn’t dated long enough for that. We hadn’t even slept together.

  But he felt differently. Every time I interacted with him, even while I was engaged, he’d hit on me. It was never inappropriate, but I still didn’t like it.

  “Hey, Tony. Thanks for coming,” I said, but he wasn’t looking at me. His attention was focused on Lewis at my side. “This is my friend, Lewis.”

  Sheila’s face lit up in a smile and tried not to grimace. I knew that she, along with half the town, would be delighted to see me in a new relationship. Greg’s cheating was still hot town gossip, even months later. The asshole had turned me into someone to be pitied.

  “What should we do now?” I asked Tony, finally drawing his attention back to my face.

  “I can talk to my captain about issuing a Silver Alert, but that might take a little time. For now, it might be best if we drive around, looking for her. We can take my patrol car.”

  I frowned. “Wouldn’t it be a better idea to split up? Cover more ground?”

  “Sure,” Tony agreed a little too nonchalantly, and that uncomfortable feeling he gave me grew. Was he really trying to get time alone with me right now?

  It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him. I just wanted him to take this seriously. Grandma could be hurt or scared wherever she was.

  “I just thought that you shouldn’t be alone,” Tony said.

  “She won’t be.” Lewis’s arm wrapped
around my waist, his hand curving around my hip.

  I knew that I should reject this move, it was like he was marking his territory. But instead, I leaned into his body, embracing the warmth that spread throughout my body from the place that he was touching me.

  Tony’s jaw clenched. “Okay. Well, let’s not waste any more time then.”

  “I’ll stay and let you know if she comes back,” Sheila offered.

  “Thanks. I’m heading east,” I told Tony, as Lewis and I headed for my car.

  He just nodded, once again looking at Lewis like he was his enemy.

  “So…that guy has a thing for you, huh?” Lewis asked once we were back inside the car.

  “You could say that.”

  “Not very professional.”

  I agreed, but all I could do was hope that he would get over it and look for my grandmother.

  We drove slowly down the street, each looking out our windows. Lewis hadn’t met my grandmother, but I was sure that any older woman walking alone would be pointed out to me. I was trying to stay calm, reminding myself that Bayville was a safe place. This wasn’t the kind of place where she would fall victim to violence or robbery. If she was hurt in any way, it would be more likely that she fell or maybe went out into the road.

  That didn’t make me feel any better.

  “Where are we going?” Lewis asked. We had been driving around for about a half an hour, randomly taking turns and winding our way around the residential area I lived in.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted, my desperation clear in my voice. The sun would be going down soon and the thought of trying to find her in the dark was terrifying.

  “Take a deep breath. Try to calm down.”

  “Calm down?” I snapped. “How can you say that? I don’t know where she is!”

  I expected Lewis to get angry too, for this to turn into an argument, but, instead, he reached over and placed his hand on my thigh, giving it a little squeeze.

  “I know,” he said. “I just meant that you need to think. Driving aimlessly isn’t working. We should check places she might go.”

  “But I don’t know where she might go,” my voice cracked. “She gets so confused that she doesn’t understand what’s going on around her.”